INFORMATION ON SAFETY 1.2 INFORMATION ON SAFETY Many accidents are caused by insufficient knowledge of and failure to comply with the safety regulations pre- scribed for the maintenance operations that must be performed on the machine. In order to avoid accidents, before starting work and before carrying out any maintenance operation, carefully read and be sure to understand all the information and warnings contained in this manual and given on the plates applied onto the machine, so that you can follow the instructions without making mistakes. To identify the messages regarding safety that are included in this manual and written on the machine plates, the following words have been used.
DANGER This word is used in the safety warnings in the manual and on the plates when the situation is dangerous and it may possibly result in serious injuries or even death. These messages describe the safety precautions to be taken in order to avoid any risk. Non-compliance with these instructions may also result in serious damage to the machine. CAUTION This word is used in the safety warnings in the manual and on the plates to sig- nal risks that may cause moderate damage or injuries. The message can be used even to indicate the risk of damage to the machine only.
IMPORTANT This word is used when precautions are indicated, which must be taken to avoid actions that may shorten the life of the machine. Komatsu Utility cannot reasonably predict every circumstance that might involve a potential hazard during the op- eration or maintenance of the machine; for this reason, the safety messages included in this manual and applied onto the machine may not include all possible safety precautions. If all the procedures and operations prescribed for this machine are kept to, you can be sure that the operator and the persons in the vicinity can work in total safety, with no risk of damaging the machine.
In case of doubt regard- ing the safety measures necessary for some procedures, contact Komatsu Utility or your local Dealer. DANGER Before starting any maintenance operation, position the machine on firm and level ground, engage the safety locks of the equipment and of the controls, stop the engine and apply the parking brake. DANGER To make the information clearer, some illustrations in this manual represent the machine without safety guards. Do not use the machine without guards and do not start the engine when the engine protection casing is open, if this is not expressly prescribed for some specific maintenance operations. 2